combine-screenshots

Combine multiple HDR AVIF screenshots into a single image. The first image is kept in full, and the subtitle region from each subsequent image is cropped and appended below in order.

Arguments

All arguments are image paths. If bare filenames (no /), resolve relative to the current working directory.

• •$0 (required): The main image, kept in full.
• •$1, $2, ... (at least one required): Subtitle source images. Only the bottom strip (subtitle region) of each is cropped and appended below.

Steps

1. •

   Parse arguments. Collect all arguments as an ordered list of image paths. There must be at least 2. Resolve bare filenames relative to the current working directory.

2. •

   Find a reference combined image. Search the same directory as the inputs for an existing AVIF file whose basename contains - (the naming convention for combined images, e.g., 17.58-17.59.avif). Use it to calculate the subtitle strip height. If multiple candidates exist, pick the first one found. If none exist, ask the user for a reference image path or an explicit subtitle height in pixels.

3. •

   Probe dimensions. Use ffprobe to get the height of:

   • •The main image (main_h)
   • •The reference combined image (ref_h)
   • •Compute: subtitle_h = ref_h - main_h
   • •Validate subtitle_h > 0; abort if not.
4. •

   Probe HDR metadata. Use ffprobe on the main image to read color_space, color_transfer, and color_primaries. These will be re-applied via the setparams filter.

5. •

   Build the ffmpeg filter graph. For N input images (indices 0 through N-1):

   • •Input 0 is used as-is: [0:v]
   • •For each input i (1 through N-1), crop its subtitle strip from the bottom: [i:v]crop=<width>:<subtitle_h>:0:<crop_y>[sub_i] where crop_y = image_height - subtitle_h
   • •Stack all parts vertically: [0:v][sub_1][sub_2]...vstack=inputs=N,setparams=color_primaries=<p>:color_trc=<t>:colorspace=<cs>[out]
6. •

   Run ffmpeg.

   bash

   ffmpeg -y \
     -i <image_0> -i <image_1> ... -i <image_N-1> \
     -filter_complex "<filter_graph>" \
     -map "[out]" \
     -c:v libaom-av1 -crf 20 -still-picture 1 \
     <output-path>
   

7. •

   Output filename. Strip .avif from the first and last input filenames, join with -, append .avif. Middle filenames are omitted. Place in the same directory.

   • •2 images: 23.19.avif + 23.22.avif → 23.19-23.22.avif
   • •3 images: 23.19.avif + 23.20.avif + 23.21.avif → 23.19-23.21.avif
8. •

   Verify. Run ffprobe on the output to confirm:

   • •Width matches source images.
   • •Height equals main_h + subtitle_h * (N - 1).
   • •HDR metadata (color_space, color_transfer, color_primaries) is preserved.
   • •Report the result.